Cathay
The Empire of Cathay or simply "Cathay" is a massive Human Empire in the far east of Asia. The Empire was first constructed centuries ago, and underwent massive expansion under the Man God Yen Fang, which have made Cathay into perhaps the largest, and oldest Empire on Earth. Within the Empire of Cathay lies the monkey Kingdom of Caith where the monkey`s of Caith live nearly auntonously within Cathay. Cathay is ruled by the Emperor of Cathay of whom beneath him lies the Warlords of the different Dynasties of which are basically independant kingdoms that must anwser to him when called. Many nobles make up the bulk of the emperor's court—trusted advisors, sycophantic yes-men. The court is distinct from the offices of the Celestial Ministry, in that its members are literally in the emperor's presence for much of the day. The court is also where one will find the personal representatives of the Emperor Kisu, who act on his behalf in a number of arenas, both political and military. The Emperor's Blade is the ruler's able right hand, a deadly master of swordsmanship. The Emperor's Voice speaks the Canthan monarch's words. The Emperor's Hand does Kisu's bidding in cases where violence may not be needed, but words will not be enough. Beneath the Empeor lies the Warlords of the numerous Dynasties that lie within the Empire of Cathay, and these men control immense forces and dependind on loyalty can change the fate of an Empire. Cathay has created many enemies in its long years of growth, but above all these they must contest with their ancient rivals in the Charr , who control a large Empire to their North. Alongside their only true allies in the Furbolg of Kalimdor. These three have fought eachother since the days of the First War against Chaos and in this way they are bound to die amongst eachother. Cathay was founded in ancient days by a small tribe of humans called the Han of whome dominated the island of Hainan. From Hainan they would battle against the Tang Dynasty of whome ruled much of eastern mainland Cathay. The two sides would fight for centuries as the Tang lost more and more ground, and then suffered a death blow when the Tang were attacked from behind by the Zing Dynasty of northern Cathay. The Zing would make not attempt to battle against the Han and instead would be slowly but surely annexxed by the Han as the years went on, and by the time of the First War with Chaos there were little to no Zing Chinese left. The empire was formed originally by the warlord Kaineng Tah when he united the Han tribes on the island of Hainan. Records claim that he was given a message by the Noble Titans, of whome enlitened him into taking control of the island of Hainan, and allowed him the skill to turn his patchwork alliance into the true begginings of Cathay. When he was killed, his son, Yian Zho took the throne and waged war on the Luxons and later Kurzicks, subjugating them to mass executions until they surrendered into becoming vassals of which ended all resistence from the island and allowed the expansion onto the mainland. The Hainan Empire as it was called then expanded onto the mainland after taking control of the large port of Macau of which was the capital of the vassal state of Zang Ghour underneath the Tang Dynasty. The coming of Yen Fang would dramatically change the Empire of Cathay as from his low birth he rose to take control of the military might of his people and expanded Cathay outward in all directions. Finally the Charr would be utterly defeated on the battlefield, and Yen Fang begin constructing the Great Wall of which would hold off the Charr, and from this point he spent nearly two hundred years as the leader of a unified Cathay that was second to only Numeron in power. Geography Climate The territory of China lies between latitudes 18° and 54° N, and longitudes 73° and 135° E. China's landscapes vary significantly across its vast width. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, broad grasslands predominate. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges, while the central-east hosts the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Other major rivers include the Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. To the west, major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. The world's highest point, Mt. Everest (8848m), lies on the Cathay-Ind border. The country's lowest point, and the world's fourth-lowest, is the dried lake bed of Ayding Lake (−154m) in the Turpan Depression. China's climate is mainly dominated by dry seasons and wet monsoons, which lead to a pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist. The climate in China differs from region to region because of the country's extensive and complex topography. Political The Empire of Cathay controls a vast, and size whise the largest Empire in the entire world. The Empire stretches from the east coast of Asia, all the way to the edges of the Mid-east. The Vast majoirty of their civilization is built around the Niln river, and this concentration in eastern Asia, means the west is heavily militarized. The Empires main enemey and region of insecurity is located to the North and it is in their numbers that forced the Cathay, to contruct a massive wall across much of their north. History Main Article : Timeline of Cathay Early History The empire was formed originally by the warlord Kaineng Tah when he united the Han tribes on the island of Hainan. Records claim that he was given a message by the Noble Titans, of whome enlitened him into taking control of the island of Hainan, and allowed him the skill to turn his patchwork alliance into the true begginings of Cathay. When he was killed, his son, Yian Zho took the throne and waged war on the Luxons and later Kurzicks, subjugating them to mass executions until they surrendered into becoming vassals of which ended all resistence from the island and allowed the expansion onto the mainland. The Hainan Empire as it was called then expanded onto the mainland after taking control of the large port of Macau of which was the capital of the vassal state of Zang Ghour underneath the Tang Dynasty. War with the Tang Dynasty First War with Chaos Main Article : First War with Chaos In Asia the Empire of Cathay was the largest Empire in the region and because of this the forces of Chaos migrated towards it in an attempt to destroy it. While the battles in Europe were just as vast the conflict in Asia became at first a conflict between the Demons and Cathay but quickly became a conflict between Cathay against the Demons, and the Charr. The Charr were once a peaceful race but with the coming of the demons they were corupted and became the forces of Chaos greatest tools in Asia. With the Charr now working with Chaos the forces of Cathay, and their allies were pushed back and nearly overwhelmed by the forces of Chaos. Cathay gained a brief respite when at the Battle of Shanghei the forces of Cathay, and Kalimdor overwhelmed a massive Charr army and killed their leadership caste meaning they became less dangerous for much of the rest of the war. Still this wasn't enough to save them and city by city Cathay, and Kalimdor were pushed back to the brink. At this extremely dark time they were assisted by unlikely allies when the forces of Ind, and Nippon landed on their shores and assisted them in the conflict. Stagnation Following their survival in the War with Chaos the powers in Asia in their entirety basically entered centuries of stagnation where they were for whatever reasons unable to move forward and during this time the Empire of Cathay was constantly ravaged and beaten down by the forces of the Charr, and they watched their border with Kalmidor disappear after the Charr took control of the border region. Yen Fang Main Article : Yen Fang Expansion War with Ind Chaos Goverment The Emperor's Court Many nobles make up the bulk of the emperor's court—trusted advisors, sycophantic yes-men. The court is distinct from the offices of the Celestial Ministry, in that its members are literally in the emperor's presence for much of the day. The court is also where one will find the personal representatives of the Emperor Kisu, who act on his behalf in a number of arenas, both political and military. The Emperor's Blade is the ruler's able right hand, a deadly master of swordsmanship. The Emperor's Voice speaks the Canthan monarch's words. The Emperor's Hand does Kisu's bidding in cases where violence may not be needed, but words will not be enough. The current Emperor of Cathay is Emperor Cao Sou, and he has ruled for decades of peace within the Empire of Cathay. Emperor of Cathay Celestial Court The Warlords The Warlords of Cathay stand as the secondary leadership of the Empire of Cathay and rule over their specific dynasty as kings in their own right. The Warlords of Cathay hold their positions and titles heridetarily thus protecting themselves from being withdrawn, but the true balance of power still lies with Cathay as the Warlords are bound by law and their titles to anwser the calls of the Emperor without resistence, for resistence would give the emperor right to revoke their title. Cathay.jpg|Han Dynasty The Celestial Ministry The vast Empire of Cathay contains many millions of Humans. Yet one man, even an Ascendant Emperor, cannot see to all of the concerns and laws governing so many. To keep Cathay running effectively, a bureaucracy is and always has been key. This bureaucracy—known collectively as the Celestial Ministry—has grown in size and power over the years, though not necessarily in efficiency. Emperor Kisu knows that the bureaucracy is too large, and in places too corrupt, but even the sovereign ruler of Cathay can only do so much to stem the tide of a growing bureaucratic class in Kaineng City. The Celestial Ministry is divided into four smaller Ministries, each one devoted to a different aspect of Cantha's imperial government. These ministries, each named after one of the four major elements, have been created over several hundred years to (ostensibly) meet certain needs that the Celestial Ministry could not handle. Their elemental names—Fire, Earth, Air, and Water—are traditionally tied to specific (and largely mythical) powers. The most visible function of all Ministries is tax collection, which makes them even more unpopular among the masses. Most Canthan citizens love their emperor, but hate the bureaucracy that runs his empire. Kingdom of Caith Main Article : Kingdom of Caith See Also : Caith See Also : Wukong Wukong is the current Simian Master of the Kingdom of Caith, and a member of the Chimpanzee Caste of the Caith. Points of Interest Wall of Cathay Main Article : Great Wall of Cathay The Wall of Cathay is a massive wall that stretches across much of the northern border of Cathay. Initially constructed under the Man God Yen Fang, the wall has been increasingly expanded under each new Emperor, until it now stretches the entire ways across. The wall has gaps in it, and its size means that large sections are just towers so the Charr are regulary able to send raiding parties through, but larger armies cannot make it through these passes, so they must go through the wall. Demographics Ethnicity Religion Population Centers of Population Diplomacy Enemies See Also : Charr Confederacy , Ind , Qun The Expansionist and supremisist policies of Cathay have led them into conflict with many Kingdoms over their history. While most have fallen and are now inside Cathay, the one constant enemy is the Charr Confederacy, and the two have forever changing borders. Charr Confederacy The Charr Confederacy is the ancient and most hated enemy of Cathay. The two have been fighting since they were nothing more then tribes. Ind The conflict between Cathay, and Ind only begin recently and was a preemptive attack by Ind in order to push Cathay away from their border. The war between the two is fought in the territory of the Ind Client state of Burma, and this territory has been badly damaged. Qun The Qun Empire is a large Empire that controls much of the coastline of southeaster Asia. This has led them to a history of large scale naval engagement. Only recently have they come to share a land border, and this has further escalated the conflict. Allies See Also : Kingdom of Kalimdor Cathay for the same reason it has a lot of enemies doesn't have many friends. Kingdom of Kalimdor For whatever reason the Furbolg of Kalimdor, and the Humans of Cathay have always had a very friendly relationship. Client States Cathay enemies.gif|Enemies of Cathay Allies of Cathay.gif|Allies of Cathay Category:Kingdoms of Asia Category:Kingdoms